


I Never Knew What it Was Like to be Alone

by Heartshade



Series: Alone on a Valentines Day [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 21:46:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17271692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartshade/pseuds/Heartshade
Summary: Tony and Nebula begin to bond while escaping Titan.Tony is still in shock over the deaths of Peter and Loki, but he ends up on a ship with Nebula as they leave Titan behind.





	I Never Knew What it Was Like to be Alone

**Author's Note:**

> So I really enjoyed writing the last fic, and I wanted to carry on this story, so I’ve decided to make it a series. I hope you like it!

‘We have to go.’

It’s the fifth time she’s said it, but Tony just can’t seem to bring himself to get up. They’re gone. Peter, Loki, his family, gone. He knows that he is probably going into shock but he’s struggling to care enough to stop it. What has he got left to live for now?

‘Come on, we need to leave,’ she says, grabbing his arm and forcing him to rise from where he is crouched on the floor. Despite the jostling he can’t tear his eyes away from his hands. They are coated in ashes, coated in them. Oh god-

He’s snapped out of his thoughts when a cold hand grasps his chin and forces his eyes up. He finds himself staring into a pair of void black eyes rimmed with a distant, repressed pain that Tony only recognises because he knows that it’s evident in his own. 

‘I know you’re hurting, but we need to leave now. Do you know how to fly a ship?’

He forces himself to think. This woman has clearly lost people too, but she is able to keep it together. He just needs to try and calm down. Think. What would Loki do? He’d tell him to stop moping, sentiment never solves anything. Follow the woman, find the ship that the Guardians arrived in, and get back to earth. See if he can find a way to fix this. Come on, he’s Tony Stark, isn’t he meant to be good at building and fixing things?

Tony manages to nod, rasping out that he should be able to work it out. Nodding curtly, she strides off towards the ship, clearly expecting Tony to follow. He stumbles after her, wincing as he strains the wound in his side. He’ll have to sort that out once he gets the chance. If Loki were here he would have it healed already. He always said he hated healing magic, but he wasn’t half bad at it. Tony still can’t believe he’s really gone. 

When they reach the ship the woman strolls in without hesitation. It doesn’t seem to be damaged, despite the battle that occurred so close to it. Tony staggers in, barely even glancing around as the woman motions for him to come over. She’s flicking switches and turning knobs, barely paying him any attention as she prepares to fly the ship.

‘I should be able to fly it but I’ll need a co-pilot in case of an emergency. Just watch me and you should get the hang of it.’

Her voice is cold and robotic, but something about it is comforting to Tony. God knows what it is. Maybe it’s a reminder of his bots and AIs. They never sound as harsh as she does, but there’s a similarity in the tone. Something that marks them as not exactly human. 

He gets into the chair on the left of where she’s sitting and straps himself in, wincing as he knocks his wound. Surveying the controls he takes a few guesses as to what they do. There’s one that is very clearly a thruster, and another that looks suspiciously like a brake. Despite everything Tony feels a wave of comfort from understanding at least some of the controls. The woman glances over at him before flicking a few switches and using what Tony assumes to be a steering wheel of sorts to lift them off the ground.

‘Do you know where we should go?’ The woman asks as they leave the atmosphere. Clearing his throat, Tony looks over at her before replying.

‘There’s a planet called Earth that’s probably our best bet. It’s where I come from. I don’t know how far it is though.’

‘I know it.’ She replies, setting up what Tony can only call a sat nav as she talks. ‘I’ve never really bothered to pay it much attention, but I can get us there.’

‘Thank you.’ Tony says quietly. She only nods, before they lapse back into silence.

After about 15 minutes Tony decides to speak up. ‘I’m Tony by the way.’ He mentions, deciding that if he had to fly with this woman for God knows how long, then they might as well know each other’s names.

‘Nebula.’ She replies, staring ahead as she speaks. ‘You’re injured. Are you ok?’

Tony blinks, surprised that she seems to care about his welfare despite the fact that they only just met. 

‘Uh, yeah I’ll be fine. I’ve had worse.’ She looks over at that, confusion and apprehension apparent on her face. Tony snorts. ‘I know it doesn’t seem likely, but I swear, this is barely anything on some of the things I’ve gone through.’ 

Turning her attention back to the steering, she gives a little huff of amusement. ‘I know what you mean,’ she replies, a tender note to her voice that surprises Tony.

‘So, what did he do to you then?’ Tony asks, attempting a joking tone that just falls slightly flat. Thankfully she doesn’t take offence at the question.

‘He raised me.’ She says, her tightening knuckles on the controls giving away her anger. ‘He had me and my sister fight, then replaced bits of me with machinery when I lost.’ 

Tony stares at her for a moment, his horror evident. She doesn’t seem to notice. When Tony yawns she glances over with something almost like concern in her eyes.

‘You’re tired. You should sleep. The journey will take a while.’ Tony nods, settling back into his seat as exhaustion settles over him.

When he falls asleep he dreams of Loki.


End file.
